The Alliance is also quickly approaching the end of its Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade, which called on cooperatives to be the fastest-growing business model by 2020. Whether that target has been or will be reached has not been realized yet. But an influential figure in co-op circles has called on the Alliance to be bold and affirm a post-2020 strategy.

Ahead of the election of the Alliance’s new board and president during last month’s General Assembly in Malaysia, Jean-Louis Bancel, president of Co-operatives Europe and president/executive vice-chair of Crédit Coopératif, said it is “necessary to launch a new phase” of the organization and a review of the mission/objective of the board.

Ben Reid, chief executive of Midcounties Co-op and an Alliance board director, agreed. In a series of questions to board members from Bancel, Reid said, “At the moment we spend the majority of our time inwardly focused, which feels like a lost opportunity, given the quality that sits around the board table.”

He added, “The timing for a review feels right. We will have a new president, new board and indeed a new director-general. There could not be a more opportune moment to review how we operate and establish policies and procedures that will underpin our drive forward to create a more inclusive and effective ICA.”

So what is this new direction for the Alliance? Bancel believes the movement should focus on “the better world” that co-ops declare they want to build. In particular, he believes the aims of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals should be adopted by the international cooperative movement.

Share This Post

We hope you enjoyed this article. If you did, we would love it if you would share it to your social networks!